CER NEWSWIRE
Vol. 4, No. 1
January 8, 2002

Happy New Year! Just eight days into "aught-two" will find you — if you're a reformer — delighted at the progress already made and chomping at the bit to fight the battles.

* DONE DEAL: The President was in Hamilton, Ohio - home to House of Reps. Education Chair Congressman John Boehner - with Secretary of Education Rod Paige and other Hill leaders who worked out the final negotiations that have now become the new education law in the land. Praising the accomplishments as bi-partisan and long-lasting, the President highlighted the hallmarks of the bill: more flexibility for states, districts and schools regarding cumbersome rules, a requirement that every state test all children in grades 3-8 in reading and math, with science coming later, the freedom for parents whose children are trapped in failing schools without progress to take limited federal funds for tutoring, and more. The bill also allows states to experiment with new teacher quality initiatives, elevates the funding and status of charter schools and ensures that reading fund are spent on proven programs. A full summary of the bill can be found at http://www.ed.gov/nclb. Highlights and resources can be found at CER's new ESEA Page. The usual suspects for whom accountability now takes on new meaning were out in full force with their complaints about the bill (not enough money), but it's clear from the reaction of rank and file educators that the new rigor being imposed on federal programs is a welcome change. [For the latest on the Reading Initiative, see CER's Curriculum Watch Page, the Reading Corner.]

* ACCOUNTABILITY: The New Year has begun with a bang in Florida. Last month, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a change in the Florida school grading system, a major component of the Bush/Brogan A+ Plan for Education. The new system will focus more closely on individual student achievement gains and will require students to meet a higher set of standards than previously imposed. Schools will be graded during the 2002-2003 school year based on: 1) the percentage of students who meet high standards on the FCAT in reading and math in grades 3-10, and writing in grades 4, 8, and 10; 2) the percentage of students who demonstrate yearly gains in math and reading within the year in grades 3 through 10; and 3) the improvement of the lowest 25 percent of students in reading in each grade level, aggregated for each school. Florida leaders are in the forefront of meaningful accountability that allows parents and schools to judge individual progress from year to year rather than scores that are not relative to progress.

* URBAN PROBLEMS: St. Louis, MO is once again in the news for its failure to meet even minimal state accreditation standards. A state report concludes that the city's schools – if reviewed for accreditation today, "would slip from partially accredited status to unaccredited," with less than half the points needed. This doesn't seem to phase most of the members of the St. Louis school board who denied a charter proposal early last year to the St. Louis Academies, which is run by a coalition of black ministers and parents with the goal of providing a better education. After this group's new ideas for success were rebuffed, the St. Louis Academies chose to open as a private school using an innovative funding method – federal before and after-care funds to do before-care, after-care and regular school. The schools hope to prove they can educate children and eventually convince the district to charter them.

That's an unlikely scenario given the attitude of one district official who told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that the only reason the district will approve a new charter for dropouts is because, "They only take dropouts. They won't pull students from the district."

* URBAN SCHOOLS II: Philly is off and running under new management; sort of. The state's takeover of the city schools began for children after their Christmas break. Since then the School Reform Commission has begun to be filled and new contracts for taking on aspects of school management have begun to be awarded. There is much excitement over potential reconstitution of failing schools and efforts to cluster groups of schools into more autonomous mini-districts. This is a situation that will be unfolding for months to come.

And in New York, new Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to use his muscle to turn around that state's school system. Time will tell if early alliances with the teachers union will prevent that from happening.

PICTURE PERFECT: CER invites all charter schools to send in digital pictures of the special people and activities that tell their stories of promise and progress, to be featured in an upcoming website slide-show. Send photos and captions to cer@edreform.com.

Next week: Them's fightin' words for New York charters, and a quiz -- what city superintendent needed to buy a $33,000 Chrysler on taxpayer money? And to think, there are people who think vouchers are an unacceptable use of public money!

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The CER Newswire is published by The Center for Education Reform, the nation's leading authority on school reform. CER is dedicated to making schools better for America's children by improving educational access and excellence for all. CER works with parents, teachers and policymakers to advance meaningful education improvement initiatives.

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